


Underneath the Stars

by HungryLibrary



Category: RWBY
Genre: First posted to Tumblr, Missing Scene, Multi, friends helping friends, hurt comfort, oblivious weiss and jaune are oblivious, pyrrha needs a hug, wrote this as friendship but could be pyrruby too i suppose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-05 13:11:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3121400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HungryLibrary/pseuds/HungryLibrary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pyrrha decides that she needs some time alone, after consoling a droopy Jaune who is very much smitten with someone who is very much not her. </p>
<p>Ruby thinks that maybe, along with a bit of peace and quiet, Pyrrha could also use a friend. </p>
<p>
  <em>(The fact that Ruby has the same problem with her own partner kind of makes them kindred spirits tonight.)</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Underneath the Stars

It was cold out here, underneath the stars.

Pyrrha decided to stay outside a little longer, pretend that the tight stinging around her eyes was due to the cool air and nothing more.

She cannot face the rest of her team right now.

Even if she could, their room is directly opposite team RWBY’s door- and she bore Weiss no ill will but meeting her now would, Pyrrha knew, be more painful than an unguarded punch to gut.

Slight rather than muscled. Fair-haired and pale, vivid and outspoken….

… Pyrrha could not see her friend tonight. If she did look all she would see was something that she was not and would likely never be.

So she shivered in the Vale chill and found a seat on the icy stone, one that faced away from the sleepy lights of Beacon.  

All was quiet.

Hands folded together, Pyrrha felt her shoulders relax from their drill-in straightness.

The heartbeat clamor inside her had died down. Everything was quiet and still, limp, empty of any strength to fight.  

But the stinging in her eyes only became worse.

_He does not even consider you to be an option._

A twinge made her take measured breaths, like she would to ease the ache of a stich in the side.

The ache was in her heart, though, and the breathing did nothing.

_You are his friend, his teammate, his mentor and partner-_

Not a partner in the sense that she had started to hope for, yet a partner none the less.

_That must be enough._

And it will be.

In the morning she will rouse him from bed with the usual encouraging vigor, herd him outside for their break-of-day run.

She will have breakfast with their team and friends and spare not a thought for how she would have rather the night before had gone-

But she could not manage it, just now.

Sending Jaune off with a smile had cost her more than the match with CRNL ever could have. She needed time to bring her reserves back up again.

So, Jaune would have his jog and she would have a moment alone in the darkness.

To reflect, to contemplate, to think of nothing at all-

“Pyrrha?”

-and stop her sword a hairsbreadth away from Ruby’s throat.

_Good god, I almost-_

“Sorry!” Adrenaline rushed through Pyrrha as she jerked back in alarm. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t notice you were here. Are you alright?“

“Y-yeah. I’m fine.”

Ruby smiled but rubbed reflexively at her neck, eyes following Milo as the blade drooped almost to ground.

Old resignation welled up in Pyrrha as she caught the look. How many times has it happened before, that the weapons in her hands made people step warily or warded them away entirely?

“But, you know what a better question would be-”

Pyrrha gave a start.

Ruby was leaning in slightly, peering up with faintly worried eyes.

“Are _you_ okay, Pyrrha?”

She asked it so earnestly that for a moment Pyrrha wanted to say-

_No, not really._

But a practiced phrase makes its way out instead.

“I am quite fine, thank you.” A smile would make the words more convincing, she is sure. She still cannot summon one, not even to reassure a friend.

Ruby raised one eyebrow. As expected she does not look convinced.

“Well you look kinda tired.”

A slight change in subject.

“Not Blake-levels or anything, but I guess the match with CRDL and Mercury actually did take a bit out of you, huh?”

Ruby is smiling.

Even though they have seen enough of each other sparring to know the other’s limits, even though she must know that twice as many fights in a day would put no strain on Pyrrha, Ruby plays oblivious and let the real question slide into nothing.

A weight lifted.

Pyrrha settled slowly back onto her heels.

“Yes.” She said, surprised, grateful. Voice no longer trying to hide how tired she was.

“I suppose it did. That Mercury fellow was a particularly strange opponent…”

“He gave up so quickly!”

Honest confusion colored Ruby’s words as she frowned in consternation.

“That really wasn’t cool. Leg based attackers like him are rare, and I _barely_ got a chance to watch him fight.”

Despite herself Pyrrha let loose a soft chuckle.

“Well I am sure you will have plenty more chances to see him in combat. He is here for the tournament, after all.”

“Guess so.” The younger girl hummed and glanced over at the edge of roof.

“Mind if I join you for bit?”

_Ah, that might not really be…_

“I’m sorry.” And she truly was. “At the moment I’m afraid I’m not very suited to being good company.”

But the burnet only shook her head.

“I didn’t ask you to keep me company. I asked ifyou _wanted_ some company.”

She paused.

Silver eyes dropped to the ground as she fidgeted with her cloak.

“…and also, I’ve never actually had a good look at Milo, so I was sort of thinking maybe if you didn’t mind I could…”

Ruby trailed off into a mumble, just a little too embarrassed to finish the request.

A smile tugged at the corner of older girl’s lips.

_She is still so young._

Pyrrha thought as the smile spread like warmth, softening her weary features.

_Or no._ She corrected herself _. Ruby is the sort of person who will reach the age of sixty and still be just as fascinated by weapons, just as easily made meek when talking to their wielders..._

The thought that Huntresses, such as Ruby wished to become, rarely lived so long was not one Pyrrha wished to connect to the bright-eyed girl before her.

So she pushed it aside and gestured to her vacated seat.

“The lighting out here is not very good, but if you would really like to-“

“Yes!”

Ruby slipped forward to drop down onto the roof’s edge, legs kicking with excitement as she beamed up at Pyrrha.

“I promise I’ll be gentle. No touching the trigger or leaving finger smudges on the blade, don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

Pyrrha reassured as she also sat down and passed over the sword.

A whispered ‘wow..’ escaped Ruby as she took Akou. Her movements were almost reverent as she held the weapon in her open palms, raising it for a thorough examination.

The attentiveness gave strength to Pyrrha’s faint smile.

Again she let her shoulders relax and her stance dissolve into a slouch. This time though, her eyes had something better than mere darkness to focus on.

It was good that Ruby was here.

Being alone was quiet and peaceful, true enough. But there was a kind of peace here as well- A calm less empty than true silence would have been.

She watched as Ruby inspected the weapon, end to end and side to side, before daring to run a gentle hand along its grooves.

“So streamlined…”

A twist of the wrist and Milo flipped over- There was a well-oiled scape of metal as sword became spear, stretching into is next form like a contented cat beneath Ruby’s fingers. 

Pyrrha stared, watching as Milo’s rifle mode was unlocked with just as much ease.

It shouldn’t be so easy.

It was _not_ so easy- Others had examined Milo before Ruby, none of them had managed to effect any of his transformations.

Or perhaps it was just that none of them had dared try.

“Do you have a good deal of experience handling strange weapons?”

Ruby nodded absent mindedly.

“Yep. Pretty much the first thing I do when I meet people- usually anyway. Took weeks before Weiss would let me come near her Dust rapier. But I’ve been trying to cut back on it.”

Noting how keen her interest was while handling Milo, Pyrrha couldn’t help but wonder.

“Why?”

Ruby laughed.

“Well, you know.” Head bowed slightly, her bangs almost covered up the light hint of a blush.

“Turns out friends can be really cool too. I didn’t really get that, at first.”

A lump rose suddenly in Pyrrha’s throat.

“Yes.” She murmured.

“I was a bit like that as well, in a way...”

“It was different for you though.” Ruby’s eyes stayed on the weapon as she spoke, fitting Milo snug against her shoulder and taking aim at the twinkling stars above. “You wanted friends and just couldn’t find them, right? Not until you came here.”

_-And met Jaune._

The smile crumbled off of Pyrrha’s face as she turned back to the darkness, working hard to swallow and nearly wincing from the pain of it.

“Did he tell you he sang?”

“What?”

The switch is so sudden it made Pyrrha blink in surprise.

“Jaune.” Ruby adjusted her grip and aimed a bit higher. “When he asked Weiss to the dance, he actually put the question to music. Had a guitar with him too- Turns out he’s not too shabby on one.”

A picture formed so vividly in Pyrrha’s mind- of Jaune and Weiss’s reaction to his singing -that the laughter burst out before she even realized it was there.

“He tried to _serenade_ her? Oh dear…”

Ruby adds her own soft giggle and Pyrrha was still laughing, hunched over with one hand pressed to her grinning, trembling lips.

She was laughing but it felt more like a moment of madness than of hilarity.

“I- I almost wish I had been there to see it.”

“It was pretty sweet.” Pyrrha heard herself hiccup a little at that. “Not that it helped. He never had a chance- Weiss already has a date for the dance in mind, and heiresses like her don’t change their plans for no reason.”

Pyrrha felt the laugher die off at once.

Ruby’s tone had been light but her body was now very still. Eyes looked less like silver and more like overcast skies as she sighted down Milo’s barrel, baited and focused as if a real Grimm was waiting to be shot at the other end.

“She didn’t say who but you only need one guess.” Ruby tapped her trigger finger on the guard and took aim at another star.

“Like draws like and they’re both really smart, so I guess at least she won’t have to spend the evening explaining things to him over and over again. No nicknames like ‘Dolt’ and ‘Dunce’ for Weiss Schnee’s special date. Nope.”

Pyrrha felt a pang in chest as she remembered-

_Ruby’s voice, soft with awe and wonder._

_“Wow… You can control poles.”_

_“No you dunce!” Weiss snapped form Pyrrha’s other side. “It means she has control over magnetism!”_

_“…Magnets are cool too…”_

And Pyrrha herself had just smiled, a little amused by the grumbling tiffs those two always found themselves in.

Just another trade of back and forth between the contrasting pair.

Just another day, just another difference between Ruby and the young man who had so handedly beaten most of team RWBY in a game of strategy during his first introduction.

The young man Weiss had been happily flirting with ever since.

“Ruby…”

Ruby’s hands tense, fighting down the urge to squeeze Milo tight in a white-knuckled grip.

“What were you doing out here so late at night?”

Pyrrha had a suspicion that she was not the only one unable to face certain friends and partners right now.

“Heh.”

Ruby sighed and lowered Milo, laying the rifle carefully across her knees.

“Would you believe me if I said I was out for an evening stroll?”

“If that is what you say, then I won’t pry any further.”

“Well I wasn’t.”

If Milo had been a thing of living flesh then Pyrrha imagined he would be purring under each of Ruby’s tender strokes.

“I was looking for you.”

A jolt of surprise ran down Pyrrha’s spine.

“When I saw Jaune, when he asked Weiss… It’s plain as day to everyone else that you like him, and when he went jogging past our window without you, I got worried.”

There is worry now too, a bit of panic when Ruby turns to Pyrrha with wide and pleading eyes.

“You’re not angry at Weiss are you? Because I swear she really _isn’t_ interested and she hasn’t done anything to egg him on-“

“No.”

Pyrrha cut in quickly, a little hurt that Ruby would think it of her.

“No, of course I’m not angry with her.”

A hand on Ruby’s arm helped to calm the younger girl down, and Pyrrha found no reason not to leave it there.

They both needed a bit of comforting tonight.

“I only…” She hesitated at a prickle of shame but plowed on regardless. “It was just that I didn’t feel like putting on a smile for anyone. I thought some time alone might help.”

Ruby slumped with relief.

“Oh, good. You aren’t mad, you just…”

A pause.

A twist as Ruby’s mouth forms a chagrined smile.  

“..You just wanted space. And then here comes someone who won’t take a hint and pretty much begs to get their hands on your weapons… Sorry. I should have asked-”

“You did ask.”

Pyrrha cut in again, a little tickled by the look of exasperation on Ruby’s face at being interrupted.

“I mean I shouldn’t have _kept_ asking-“

“I’m very glad that you did.”

_Jaune may be your best friend, but in no way does that mean you should discount the others you have now._

_Going alone to the dance will not be so bad if you have can at least spend the night with them._

Her hand gave Ruby’s arm a gentle squeeze and Ruby, though obviously still apologetic, went quiet and offered up proper smile.

“You sure? You can still have peace and quiet if you want, I don’t mind leaving.”

“I would like you to stay.”

A cold wind blasted across the roof and Pyrrha reconsidered her words.

“Or, I would like to stay out longer, but it is a bit chill…”

“No problem!”

Clasps snapped as Ruby unhooked her cape, twisting to drape it over Pyrrha’s bare shoulders instead.

“There.” Ruby nodded as she fastened the cloak snug around her friend. “Just try not to let the wind blow it away, okay? Chasing it around in the dark wouldn’t be much fun.”

Pyrrha frowned.

“Won’t you be cold now?”

“Nah.” Ruby waved a dismissive hand.

“I’ve got layers on. Anyway Weiss likes to keep the dorm room pretty cool, so I’m used to it.”

“Hmm.”

It was perhaps a little unexpected, scooting closer to scoop Ruby up in one arm and under the cloak as well. Maybe that was why Ruby squeaked and turned a charming shade of pink.

“Why don’t we just share? Your cloak seems large enough for two, don’t you think?”

“S-sure.”

Ruby stuttered but made no protest, and Pyrrha let out a little breath she hadn’t noticed she was holding.

The evening was quite cozy now.

The cloak blocked most of the wind and Ruby was like a little generator of heat tucked against her side- it was altogether surprisingly comfortable. Pyrrha would not have minded staying out there for the rest of the night….

“I guess it’s colder here than it was back at Sanctum.”

The night has cooled enough for Ruby’s words to be faintly visible before them.

“A bit.” Pyrrha admitted, smiling as a slender arm wrapped shyly around her waist, pulling them closer together. 

“Were the stars different in Mistral?”

Pyrrha followed Ruby’s lead and craned her head back, considering.

“Yes. Some are the same, but some are missing as well.”

An idea sparked. A grin broke over tanned features as Pyrrha glanced down.

“You know… my home has a tradition of connecting many of our greatest heroes to the nightly constellations. Would you like to hear a few of their stories?”

Ruby’s eyes practically outshone the stars with her delight.

“Absolutely yes! Are there any hunters up there?”

“A great many.”

“Ooh cool- what kind of _weapons_ did they have-!”

It was hard not to laugh out loud at such focused enthusiasm, but Pyrrha managed.

And she did her best to answer all of Ruby’s questions- though that meant telling almost half the stories she knew, and kept them out in the dark far longer than either had originally planned.

Luckily enough neither of them really minded.

Evening if it wasn’t the company they had hoped for- being alone together was still far, far better than being alone on their own.


End file.
